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SPORTS Monday 8 april 2019
Baylor holds off Notre Dame 82-81 for women's title

By DOUG FEINBERG their first championship in
AP Basketball Writer seven years. Mulkey and
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baylor Baylor have won titles in
recovered after blowing a 2005, 2012 and 2019. The
17-point lead and losing a 2012 championship game
star player, beating Notre also pitted the Lady Bears
Dame 82-81 for the NCAA against Muffet McGraw's
women's basketball cham- Irish in the last meeting of
pionship Sunday night two female coaches for
when 2018 tournament the title.
hero Arike Ogunbowale Baylor was able to pull off
missed a foul shot in the fi- the win without star forward
nal seconds. Lauren Cox, who injured
Chloe Jackson made a la- her knee in a frightening
yup to put Baylor ahead scene late in the third quar-
with 3.9 seconds left. Notre ter. The Irish were able to
Dame called timeout rally from a 14-point deficit
and inbounded to Ogun- in the third quarter to tie it
bowale, whose buzzer- at 78 in the fourth. Jackson
beating jumper in the then scored a jumper from
championship game lifted the foul line, and Jessica
Notre Dame to last year's Shepard countered with
title. Ogunbowale was two free throws to tie it, set-
fouled trying for a layup, ting up the exciting finish.
then missed the first of two "We had to do it for LC," said
free throws with 1.9 sec- Jackson, who was named
onds remaining. She made the Final Four's Most Out- The Baylor team raises the NCAA championship trophy after defeating Notre Dame 82-81 in the
title game of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Tampa,
the second, but the Irish standing Player. "She got us Fla.
never got the ball back. here. We had to finish the Associated Press
"They just kept doing what job for her."
we've been taught to do, The Lady Bears were primed down in the third quarter. one-tenth of a second left Dame run.
and that's guard people," to run away with the game Ogunbowale was instru- to top the Bulldogs in the It helped the Irish that the
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey as Notre Dame struggled to mental in all those victories, title game. Lady Bears had to play the
said. "We just beat the de- score. But the Irish have a forever becoming a part Ogunbowale led the last 11 minutes without Cox.
fending national champi- knack for big comebacks, of the Final Four during last charge again Sunday, She got tangled up with
ons. That team is so good, doing it against UConn in year's title run. She made scoring 17 of her 31 points Kalani Brown on the defen-
so talented. You're going to this year's semifinal and a shot with one second in the second half. That in- sive end and went down
see those guys play at the against Mississippi State in remaining to beat UConn cluded a buzzer-beating 3 clutching her left knee with
next level. Wow." last season's title game, in the semifinals, then hit a at the end of the third quar- about a minute to go in the
The Lady Bears (37-1) won when they rallied from 15 tiebreaking 3-pointer with ter, sparking an 11-0 Notre third quarter. q

Keys, seeded eighth and No. 1 said. She spent about 10 days
ranked 18th in the world, The second set was more working with Todero on
continually hit big serves of a runaway for Keys, who clay before arriving in
— she reached 121 mph won four of the final five Charleston and believed
— and overwhelming fore- games. She won four con- their reunion might lead to
hands to wear down the secutive points to break positive results. Not even
fifth-seeded Wozniacki Wozniacki's serve, then she envisioned this run,
of Denmark and win her won four more points to in which she defeated
fourth career WTA event. lead 5-2. 2017 U.S. Open champion
The match turned after Wozniacki could not re- Sloane Stephens in the
Wozniacki rallied from 0-30 spond. quarterfinals, 2016 Olympic
down and survived three Keys was "just too good for champion Monica Puig in
deuces to move in front me," said Wozniacki, who the semifinals and Wozni-
6-5 in the opening set. Keys had beaten Keys in their acki, the 2018 Australian
steadied herself and won only two previous meet- Open winner, for the title.
four straight points to set ings. "I try not to put expecta- Madison Keys celebrates after defeating Caroline Wozniacki,
up the tiebreaker. Keys beamed and bent tions as far as results on from Denmark, to win their finals match at the Volvo Car Open
Keys fell behind 2-0, then her knees and elbows in myself," Keys said. "I just tennis tournament in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, April 7, 2019.
won six of the next seven celebration after putting really wanted to play the Associated Press
points including a back- away Wozniacki's return at right way and have a re-
hand winner that Woz- the net on match point. ally great week of prac- Todero has a way of keep- ings for breakthroughs on
niacki let land inside the Her first win of the season tice and trying to get some ing her upbeat, laughing points because she is so
baseline while in good continued a curious trend matches, and then obvi- and focused on the good precise and relentless. "I will
position for a shot. Keys on the WTA of 15 different ously as time went, feeling things possible instead of be able to call on this go-
closed the set with a crisp winners for the tour's first 15 more and more confident past problems. ing forward this year," she
forehand. tournaments this season. out there and walking Keys was proud not only of said.
Wozniacki said she be- It had been a disappoint- away as the winner." out-hitting Wozniacki, but As far as clay?
lieved Keys' shot was drift- ing stretch for Keys, whose Keys said Todero's person- out-strategizing her as well. "Clay-court specialist," Keys
ing long. "Sometimes you best showing so far was ality works well with hers. Key said her opponent was joked. "It's definitely mov-
miscalculate in a bad mo- reaching the round of 16 She owns her up-and- one of the most difficult on ing up on my ranking list of
ment," the former world at the Australian Open. down moments and said tour as far as finding open- favorite surfaces."q